Reenforced concrete construction slab



May 28, 1935. w. P. CUMMINGS REENFORCED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION SLAB Filed May 19, 1934 I f D INV'ENTOR fl/Ll/lum P, Cumnnngs W ATTORNEYS Patented May 28, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REENFORCED oong ns'rs CONSTRUCTION William P. Cummings, 'Woodside, N. Y. Application May 19,1934, Serial No. 726,539 3 Claims. (01. 72 ,71)

This invention relates to reenforced concrete constructions and to the. use thereofin buildings, the object being to provide a pro-cast slab andassociated parts whereby the. slab may be readily mounted with a 'minimum amount of labor to act either as a floor or as a partition. 7 Another object of the present invention is to provide a pro-cast slab which may be used in various places in building operations and which will. be comparatively inexpensive.

- A further object of the invention is to provide a pre-cast slab in which one or more expanded metal lath sheets are used with one or more tie rods or wires.

A still further objectof the invention is to provide a pre-cast'co'ncrete slab having a plurality of sheets of expandedmetal positioned in spaced arrangement with two sheets arranged parallel and a third sheet arranged in a zig-zag manner, with the tie rods or wires running in on direction-or in two directions. a

In the accompanying drawing- Figure l is a plan viewof a concrete slab disclosing an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of part of the slab shown in Figure 1 ,'with certain parts broken away for illustrating the arrangement of the expanded metal and the various tie rods or wires;

Figure 3 is a sectional view through Figure 2 on the line 33;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 except that transverse tie rods are utilized as well as longitudinal tie rods;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing an arrangement of tiling applied to the slab before it is placed in the building; I

Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view through one of the joists of a building, with brackets and associated parts disclosed for supporting the ends of the slabs constructed according to the present invention;-

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view through another embodiment of the invention wherein the same is illustrated as presenting a hollow column or tie;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 but showing the column solid but with a reenforcing rod extending longitudinally of the column.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, l indicates the slab or block as a whole which may be of any desired size as, for instance, four feet in one direction and eight feet in the other direction, though other dimensions might be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. The slab'may be of any desired thick; ness or comparatively thinso that it might be light and inexpensive to manufacture.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3 there are pro vided top and bottom expanded metal sheets '2 and 3 and an intermediate orv third sheet 4 which is corrugated or" zig-zag in formation. Tie rods 5 are used as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, to assist in reenforcing the parts. If desired these tie rods alongwith the auxiliary tie rods .6 can be used as shown in Fig. 4. These tie rods canbe, used or eliminated, though preferably. the tie rod 6 is desirable as it helps to prevent the zig-zag expanded metal sheet 4 from moving out of place. While the construction shown in Fig. 3 with the topand bottom sheets .2 and 3 is fdesirable, these sheets couldbe eliminated and. only sheet l used, or one of the sheets couldobe. eliminated as illustrated in Fig. 6.

QIn-casting the slab I a suitable form is provided and a layer of cement placed therein. On top of this layera metal sheeting or'plate3 is posi: tioned, and on top of this metal sheeting isplaced an intermediate zig-zag sheet-4 and also the wires or rods'5. Some additional concrete is then, poured in. Usually sufiicient concrete is poured until-the zig-zag plate or sheet 5 iscov ered, and then plate 2 is placed in position, after which an additional supply of concrete is poured so that there is provided a concrete surface I and 8 with metal parts arranged therebetween to' support and stiiien the entire slab. After the slab has been cast it is set aside and may be used in the building at any time.

The slab is adapted to be used for many purposes as, for instance, interior walls, as well as exterior walls. In use as a flooring in order to deaden the sound and secure the best results, the arrangement shown in Fig. 6 is utilized. As shown in this figure, 9 indicates a wooden joist to which the angle brackets l6 and Ii are secured by suitable bolts I 2. On top of these brackets are arranged cushions l3 and 14 which are preferably of a desired grade of rubber, and on top of these cushions are arranged the slabs l5 and [6, which slabs may be identical to that shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 and may have the bottom plate 3 eliminated. Preferably the parts are so arranged that the slabs l5 and IE will project above'the upper edge of the beam or joist 9. In the space between the slabs above the joist is arranged a rubber filling l1, and on top of this filling and also on top of the slabs may be arranged a wooden floor or other desired flooring.

In certain places, for instance, in bathrooms the slabs can be provided with tiling 18 as shown in Fig. 5. When this is the case the slabs can be used both for flooring as well as for the side walls and when so used present a very desirable finish to the room at a minimum cost. As the slabs are cast comparatively small they may be readily handled by one or two men and, consequently, may be pre-cast and moved to the place where they are to be mounted. The amount of work involved in mounting the slabs is comparatively small.

It is, of course, evident that if special sized slabs are desired they could be cast at the point where they are to be mounted, so as to save transportation.

Instead of having the expanded metal wire mesh other similar reenforcing members might be used, though expanded metal has proven to be very efficient. When expanded metal is used the slabs may be readily used for flooring and present a structure which will readily support heavy loads without danger of sagging or breaking though the slabs are comparatively thin. For some purposes the slabs may be made one or two inches thick, while for other purposes they may be made much thicker as, for instance, six to eight inches. As the surfaces 1 and 8 are of concrete the slabs after being placed in position may be readily coated with a finishing coat or with paint or other covering for ornamental purposes.

In Fig. 7 another embodiment of the invention is presented wherein the members 2, 3 and 4 are used but arranged in a circle with some of the bent areas overlapped and nested as shown at l9, whereby these members are held mechanically together and in a circle. After these reenforcing members have been interlocked as mentioned, concrete is cast around the same so as to completely embed the members and provide a comparatively thin layer of concrete on each side. This completes the column or'tie, as the case may be.

Where this form of the invention is to be used as a column and a comparatively great. weight is to be supported, the construction shown in Fig. 8 is used. In this form the construction is identical to that shown in Fig. '7 except that there is a complete filling of concrete and in this concrete a number of reenforcing rods 29 are arranged.

I claim:

I. A concrete block for building purposes, comprising a concrete body of substantially uniform thickness throughout, an expanded metal sheet extending centrally through said body and formed with substantially rectangular corrugations and arranged so that one set of parallel walls of said sheet will extend from one face of the block to near the other face and the remaining walls will extend from one side to the other of the block and parallel with the respective faces of the block, and anexpanded metal sheet arranged on one face of the corrugated sheet, said last mentioned sheet being parallel to the respective surfaces of the concrete body and spaced therefrom.

2. A concrete slab comprising a rectangular concrete body of substantially uniform thickness, an expanded metal reenforcing sheet arranged adjacent one face of said body and extending substantially from one edge to the other and from one end to the other, an expanded metal member comprising a sheet bent back and folded upon itself to produce successive corrugations substantially rectangular in cross section, said corrugations being of the same size and the full width of the sheet, and means acting to substantially tie the corrugations against expanding, said tie means consisting of a plurality of rods arranged substantially centrally of the slab and in two groups, one group extending longitudinally and the other transversely of the slab.

3. A concrete structure including an expanded metal member bent back and forth upon itself to produce successive rectangular sections, foramirious reenforcing metal members arranged on each side of the first mentioned metal member, a concrete body in which all of said metal members including the foraminous reenforcing members are embedded, and a plurality of reenforcing members distributed substantially uniformly in the space surrounded by said rectangular members.

WILLIAM P. CUMMINGS. 

